In a New Orleans State of Mind

Wedding Cake House in New Orleans

Well it is not official, but unofficially, we are moving to New Orleans. Aside from missing all of the amazing friends we have in Los Angeles, the beach community we love and our dear moms who still live close to us, our little family is craving a place where we can be together all of the time and no longer have to go on location for six months a year while my husband works from show to show.

New Orleans is full of work for the film business and it happens to be a city I have a major crush on for many reasons...

I love the architecture.

The colorful homes in the French Quarter like this image...

Or the homes in white like this one with the stunning architectural detail.

I love the shopping.

I promise to dutifully shop at the flagship store of Leontine Linens.

And Perch which is also a fabulous home decor shop on Magazine Street.

There are cool modes of transportation...

We (my girls and I) will ride streetcars on St. Charles.

image

The music is hands down amazing if you love jazz as Eric and I do.

2010 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Poster

The people are friendly, warm and simply good in my book. The culture is rich. And the food...don't even get me started on all of the delicious food! Here is a shot of us (I am pregnant!!!) at a crawfish boil.

A few years ago we were there and I was talking to a producer's wife about all the reasons I did not want to move away from my comfort of Southern California. After awhile she simply stated, "Heather, you have to grow where you are planted." What incredible advice! How can one grow when she is constantly uprooted? It didn't matter as much before the girls, but now they crave stability and we need to provide it.

So with that, I am traveling to New Orleans at the end of this month with the hope that it will be the right place to land after years of searching for a home away from the home I know and love.

It will be a lovely adventure in house hunting (thank goodness for my patient Realtor Eric Wilkinson at French Quarter Realty), furniture buying (surely the home we find will be bigger than our little beach cottage we have now), private school interviewing and luckily for me Southerners are linen lovin' so I will have lots to blog about. If you read this blog and you live in New Orleans or have a tie there...don't hesitate to chime in with referrals, friends' phone numbers, etc. I would love it!

All my best to you and whatever new changes you anticipate in 2011,

Heather